How to Combat Senioritis

I hope y’all had a great weekend. It may be the middle of summer but I know that some students will be starting {or finishing} their senior year of college. With that exciting fact, comes the not-so-exciting issue of senioritis. Bleh! Senioritis is something that can get the best of students, but there are ways to combat it, you just have to keep at it for the year!

Senioritis is something that should be taken seriously. It’s something that really can affect how you finish off your college career. You want to finish the year strong, graduate, and go off to your dream job. Stick to these tips and you should be able to keep senioritis at bay!

Create a plan and stick to it

It is important to create a plan for the year. and then break it down into the two semesters. Although most of the planning goes into the second semester, you should still make a point to work hard during the first semester. You have to go into your final year with a plan to keep your nose to the grindstone and power through your final year. You should also begin to create a plan for after college. Although it isn’t something you may want to think about, it is something that you should think about at the beginning of your senior year. Those jobs aren’t going to come flying at you, or they might. You never know!

Know your deadlines

Your final year comes with lots of deadlines, especially in the second half of the semester. Capstone project deadlines, graduation application, cap and gown order, plus all of your assignments for your classes. It is important to write those deadlines down, multiple times if you have to. I use Trello to keep track of my deadlines as well as writing them in a paper planner. I am a big believer in the idea that if you write things down by hand, there is a greater chance that you will remember it.

Remember why you’re doing all of this

One way to keep yourself focused is to think ahead. Think about why you have gone through the past years of hard work. Look ahead to the future, it is in your control. There have been many times where I’m struggling with my classes, and what helps me stay focused is looking towards this December. Also, looking at what happens after graduation, the excitement of being able to do what I love, that is what helps me get through the tough classes. It’s all about perspective, you have to go through the rough patches to get to the sunshine.

Give yourself a break

Yes, it is important to keep up with the deadlines, the coursework, the job interviews, and everything else. However, the main reason that senioritis seems to creep up even on the hardest workers is because senior year begins; it’s like students forget to take care to take care of themselves. I feel like senioritis is a warning that the body gives students saying “hey, hey remember me! You need to take care of me too!”. However, those breaks aren’t planned, they are spontaneous. That is where senioritis becomes a slippery slope. You have to give yourself breaks and take care of yourself, otherwise senioritis will find its way and stick in your brain.